Listed below are my top albums, that have enriched my life through the years. As to what my favourite ever album is, damn that's difficult - it would have to be a toss-up between Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here and Dire Strait's Brothers in Arms.

ABBA

Gold: Greatest Hits Well can't argue with that. Perfect, melodic, timeless Swedish pop. I recall when they were around and still in the charts, towards the end of their career; and remember thinking that they didn't seem as highly regarded as they should have been. Thankfully they are now praised as one of the greatest pop bands of all time. Agnetha was a babe, too.

Barrett, Syd

Barrett I'm a huge Pink Floyd fan and the two original Syd Barrett albums are pretty unique. Barrett's status in the rock pantheon grows with each passing year (he passed away in 2006) and his descent into madness, or something, possibly by consuming too much LSD is the stuff of rock'n'roll legend. This is a tuneful, quirky, accessible album and there isn't a bad song on it. Take a 'trip' to the land of Barrett whimsy. Send a cage through the post, make your name like a ghost.

The Madcap Laughs If you've ever wanted to paint your floorboards orange and purple you'll love this album. Barrett's debut solo album, released in 1970, is a work of melodic, whimsical, madcap genius.

Blur

Parklife The definitive nineties Britpop album. A perfect disc containing some of my favourite classic tunes such as Parklife, Girls & Boys, Clover Over Dover, and This is a Low. Blur never bettered this.

Clapton, Eric

461 Ocean Boulevard Clapton's comeback album after overcoming a serious heroin addiction, and released in 1974, and perhaps his finest. A perfect collection of songs with Clapton and his band on top form. For me the stand out tracks are the rockers Motherless Children and Mainline Florida, and the sweetly sad Please Be With Me. Best of all, Let It Grow, with its haunting melody and rock-out coda.